The present invention relates, in general, to motor vehicle liftgates or rear batches and, more specifically, to accessory components mounted on such vehicle liftgate or rear hatches.
In modern vehicles, larger vehicles such as SUVs, vans and station wagons have a liftgate or rear hatch which closes a rear opening in the vehicle body. The liftgate is pivotally attached, usually by hinges, to the vehicle body structure surrounding the rear opening. The liftgate is releasably latchable to the vehicle structure by a latch mechanism so as to be movable between a closed position latched to the vehicle body structure and a pivoted, open position allowing access to the interior of the vehicle through the rear opening.
The liftgate itself is formed of a panel structure, which is stamped or otherwise formed into a panel having an upper opening for receiving a glass window. An interior trim panel is attachable to the liftgate panel to cover components mounted on the gate.
The liftgate forms a platform for a number of different accessories or components, such as a flipglass latch, a wiper motor and associated wiper arm, license plate lights, and a wash pump and/or wash nozzle. Various lights as well as the center high mounted stop light may also be mounted on the liftgate along with the liftgate latch mechanism. Other components which are usually mounted on the liftgate can include electrical contact connections to the defrost grid mounted on the liftgate glass or fiberglass.
All of these accessories or components are manufactured separately from the liftgate panel structure and are mounted, usually one at a time, on the liftgate while the vehicle is being assembled. The mounting of each component on the liftgate panel either directly or through brackets typically requires mechanical fasteners and, usually, an electrical connection via a plug-in connector, screw terminal, etc. All of the mounting procedures, and the mechanical and electrical connections require time, multiple workers and an increased length on the vehicle assembly line. In addition, although each component can be tested at its manufacturing site, the numerous multiple mechanical and electrical connections all create additional sources of defects which may require additional checking after assembly on the liftgate.
As can be seen, all of these factors lead to a substantial assembly time for the liftgate thereby resulting in a higher than desirable cost. To address these problems, a modular approach has been proposed in which several components are separably manufactured, pretested, and assembled into a single module, with only the module having to be mounted in a single operation on a liftgate. The number of separate mechanical fasteners and electrical connections can also be reduced by this modular approach. However, the modular approach has been proposed only for a limited number of components. This has resulted in less than anticipated savings in assembly time and labor.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved modular component apparatus for vehicle liftgates in which multiple components are mounted in a single module for a single installation on the liftgate thereby improving reliability and reducing assembly costs. It would also be desirable to provide a modular component apparatus for a vehicle liftgate which has pre-aligned connection points, combined mounting points, and reduced weight which provides an increased glass viewing area.
The present invention is an accessory component module for a vehicle liftgate which unitarily carries a plurality of components which can be mounted on a vehicle liftgate in a single assembly operation when the module itself is mounted on the liftgate.
In one aspect, the present module is in the form of a body having a plurality of individual components mounted thereon prior to mounting of the body of the module on a vehicle liftgate. The components include at least two of light sources, a camera and an actuator or switch.
When a camera is one of the components mounted on the body of the module, a camera lens is exposable through the body of the module, preferably through an aperture. A transparent cover may be mounted over the lens. A coating or a film may be disposed over the lens. An optional fluid dispensing nozzle may be mounted on the body for connection to a fluid conduit to enable cleaning fluid to be dispensed over the lens.
In one aspect of the invention, a printed circuit board carrying conductive traces or a lead frame having formed conductive leads mounted on a substrate are mounted in a carrier which is separately mountable to the body of the module. A sealing or potting component may be disposed over the printed circuit board and the lead frame. The light sources and switch or actuator may be mounted on the printed circuit board or the lead frame prior to insertion in the carrier.
In another aspect, the carrier is formed of a transparent material to enable light emitted by the light sources to be transmitted through the carrier and externally of the body of the module through apertures in the module. Alternately, removable lenses or covers may be attached to the carrier over apertures in the carrier to enable replacement of the light sources without removing the module from the liftgate.
In another aspect, an electrical harness is directly mounted on the printed circuit board or on the lead frame to provide connections to external vehicle conductors or harnesses.
The component module of the present invention provides significant advantages over previous liftgate accessory or component mounting methods by incorporating a plurality of liftgate components into a unitary module which can be attached to the liftgate in a single assembly operation. This improves the reliability of the components since the components can be preassembled, pretested and even pre-wired either before or after mounting on the module. The number of workers required to mount all of the components on the liftgate in the vehicle assembly line is reduced along with line length and assembly time. This reduces the overall costs of the liftgate components for more economical and efficient manufacturing operation. In addition, the number of electrical connectors and mechanical connection points are reduced for the liftgate to again reduce assembly time, cost and to improve reliability.